Daily AncestorHolographic will
A holographic will is written and signed entirely in the testator's own handwriting, often without witnesses.
A holographic will is one the testator wrote out personally by hand. Where the law accepted them, they did not need witnesses to be valid.
For family historians a holographic will is a rare chance to see an ancestor's own words and handwriting. Not every state recognized them, so check the law of the time and place.
As seen in a recordCounty probate court record, 1800s
The paper writing was proved to be wholly in the handwriting of the deceased.
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Daily Ancestor. "Holographic will." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/holographic-will. Last checked 2026-10-01.